Atripla approved in Europe
pharmafile | January 3, 2008 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â HIVÂ
The first ever product to combine all the drugs HIV patients need in just one daily pill has been approved in Europe.
Atripla is a three-in-one combination therapy and represents a major step forward in the treatment of HIV, making it easier for patients to keep taking the medication and fight the deadly virus.
Atripla combines three drugs from two different classes; Sustiva, marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb ( also marketed by MSD as Stocrin in some territories) and Emtriva and Viread, which are marketed by Gilead.
Brian Gazzard, Clinical Research Director of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London and a leader in HIV research and education commented: "Historically, HIV treatment regimens have been a challenge for many patients since they often combine multiple medications with complex dosing schedules.
"Atripla combines three clinically proven and well-established anti-HIV medicines in a single once-daily pill and represents an important step forward in dosing simplification."
Patients must not have experienced resistance to any of the three components contained in Atripla prior to initiation of their first treatment.
The drug will be launched in the EU shortly, where it will be marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead, after agreeing a deal with Merck Sharp & Dohme.
Atripla was approved in the US as long ago as July 2006, and the drug has been launched in developing countries during 2007, although access remains a huge problem in sub-Saharan Africa.
The region accounts for two-thirds of the global total of 33 million people worldwide who have HIV/AIDS, and 1.6 million adults and children die every year in Africa because of the disease.
The drug has been priced on a sliding scale in developing nations, intended to reflect the countrys ability to pay for the medication.
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